The BBC broadcaster and naturalist fears for the planet after seeing the global population treble during his career – but firmly believes that the world can still could come together to avoid
catastrophe

Sir David Attenborough has issued a rallying call to the developed world to unite and overcome the threats to the future of the planet posed by overpopulation and environmental damage.

n a rousing address to a festival audience in Bristol, he admitted that the problems facing the world often made him despair.

“It’s easy to get depressed, very depressed, and I do. But you have to take the longer view,” he said.

Interviewed by fellow naturalist Chris Packham at a session during the city’s Wildscreen Festival, he warned, “I am quite sure that almost every one of us in this room has seen a
better world than any of our grandchildren will do. The world is going to be poorer, and more crowded; the weather is going to be more extreme; the seas are not going to be as productive. But I
hope humanity will come to its senses in a global way to handle these problems and I believe it can be done.”

He said the population of the world had tripled during his 60-year broadcasting career. “Three times as many,” he said emphatically. “They all need houses and roads and food for their children
and themselves. A certain amount comes from reclamation of urban areas, but a great deal comes from the natural world. And that is a major disaster. And greater densities of urban population
produces all sorts of evils – urban violence, starvation…

Photo: Terry Payne

The threats facing the planet sometimes seemed insurmountable he admitted, but Attenborough said he still retained hope that things could be turned around. In supporting a new global vision he
paraded his own very green credentials.

“I am apprehensive but I still don’t think we ought to despair. If we can get together we can find solutions to a lot of the problems we face, particularly with energy production. Within ten
years it could be absolutely possible to produce energy directly from the sun and the tides and the wind at – and this is the key thing – a price which undercuts the oil and the coal. And that
can be done.”

Packham asked Attenborough whether we needed greater activism to protect endangered wildlife. In doing so he revealed that he’d just returned from Cyprus where he’d been cutting nets to release
birds that had been illegally trapped.

Attenborough said the work of wildlife filmmakers played an important role in making the public aware about the threats to both the wilderness and the wild animals that share it.

“I seriously think that wildlife programming and film-making is of crucial importance to the future of the world. The UN has said that the majority of the human race is now urbanised, so a
majority of the human race doesn’t see a true wild animal. We also know that we depend upon the natural world for every breath of air we take and every mouth of food we eat. If we damage the
natural world we damage ourselves. If the natural world is in peril we are in peril.

"People should be aware of the way the natural world works to understand when they’re damaging it.”

ADIDAS SHOES MADE FROM OCEAN PLASTIC ARE FINALLY HERE

Adidas’ latest running shoe is subtle and soft-looking, with stitching that evokes the sea. It’s also made almost entirely from plastic recovered from the ocean...

Before the Flood is a 2016 documentary film about climate change directed by Fisher Stevens. The film was produced by a collaboration between Stevens, Leonardo
DiCaprio, James Packer, Brett Ratner, Trevor Davidoski, and Jennifer Davisson Killoran. Martin Scorsese is an executive producer.

As revealed by DiCaprio on September 9, 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival, the documentary has debuted October 30, 2016 on the National Geographic Channel. As part of
National Geographic's commitment to covering climate change, the documentary was made widely available and free of charge on various platforms.

At the European premiere in London in October 2016, DiCaprio introduced the film as follows:

"Before The Flood is the product of an incredible three-year journey that took place with my co-creator and director Fisher Stevens. We went to every corner of the globe to document the
devastating impacts of climate change and questioned humanity's ability to reverse what may be the most catastrophic problem mankind has ever faced. There was a lot to take on. All that we
witnessed on this journey shows us that our world's climate is incredibly interconnected and that it is at urgent breaking point.(...)

We wanted to create a film that gave people a sense of urgency, that made them understand what particular things are going to solve this problem. We bring up the issue of a carbon tax, for
example, which I haven't seen in a lot of documentaries. Basically, sway a capitalist economy to try to invest in renewables, to bring less money and subsidies out of oil companies. These are the
things that are really going to make a massive difference. (...) We need to use our vote ... We cannot afford to have political leaders out there that do not believe in modern science or the
scientific method or empirical truths … We cannot afford to waste time having people in power that choose to believe in the 2 percent of the scientific community that is basically bought off by
lobbyists and oil companies."

"ELEGY FOR THE ARCTIC"

Ludovico Einaudi

Ludovico Einaudi performs an original piece "Elegy for the Arctic", on the Arctic Ocean to call for its protection, on June 17th, 2016. Through his music, acclaimed Italian composer and pianist
Ludovico Einaudi has added his voice to those of eight million people from across the world demanding protection for the Arctic.

Einaudi performed one of his own compositions on a floating platform in the middle of the Ocean, against the backdrop of the Wahlenbergbreen glacier (in Svalbard, Norway)

THE GREAT WARMING

...is a 2006 documentary film directed by Michael Taylor. The film was hosted by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves.

Theatre giant Regal Cinemas released the film in its top 50 markets on the weekend of November 4 to November 5, 2006, which makes the launch three times larger than for any other film of its
kind, and highlights the growing currency of the global warming issues in the mainstream.

Featuring elements of the 2005 Public Broadcasting Service special Global Warming: the Signs and the Science, The Great Warming (produced by the same team), it talks to key researchers and
reports on social justice and day-to-day impacts as well as emission statistics. It's also populated with everyday people from all over the United States and the planet who are feeling the brunt
of global warming, and/or finding innovative ways to tackle it.

While making the movie, producer Karen Coshof was determined not to lose sight of her most important advocate, the person on the street, to make the issue of global warming resonate in every
household around the globe. Every person should "feel empowered to act." In media interviews, Coshof explained that the film attracted an unprecedented coalition of leaders in science, religion,
business, environmental activism and education. They have built bridges over historic gaps to support the message of this film to believe in the individual and collective moral responsibility to
reverse the growing threats to the environment, and to the health and quality of life…

UNIFY LOVE WATER

LoveWater is a year long campaign that will transform our specie's relationship to water in every way possible. UNIFY.org is a platform created to support the emergence of the Spiritual
Renaissance happening on the planet.

Water Unifies us All. On March 22nd, 306 cities joined around the world for a Synchronized Water Ceremony. People from every culture UNIFied to restore our relationship with this sacred medium of
life. We invite you to join again on April 22nd, Earth Day, for a Global Synchronized Seed planting. People all around the world planting our intentions into the ground. On EarthDay,
plant your seeds into the ground and pour your intention on it. Plant as many seeds as you like and charge up as much water as you'd like. Together, our collective intention will root to the
core of our Mother Earth and sprout into manifestation for the June Solstice.

Join us as we catalyze a global movement of beauty, love and truth.

TRIBUTE TO THE OCEAN

Coral Guardian, a non-profit dedicated to coral reef conservation, has developped this underwater museum in a secret spot in order to let the local biodiversity take its rights back.

THE 12 YEAR OLD GIRL WHO SILENCED THE WORLD FOR 6 MINUTES...

What is wrong with the world these days? Listen to what she says and she is only 12 years old. We need to make a change!

"VOICELESS" - A BLUE FREEDOM FILM

This film is produced by Blue Freedom Inc., a student non-profit organization and is intended for educational purposes. We believe that this is the time, and we are the generation: students
hold the key to ending the captive cetacean industry.

Don’t buy a ticket to a marine park, swim-with-dolphins program, or any facility that holds captive cetaceans.